Authorities raided a marijuana plantation in the Sierra foothills above Oroville Wednesday, seizing and destroying plants weighing almost 3,900 pounds.
Rigoberto Zavala, a 45-year old-Mexican citizen arrested at the scene, is being held on $195,000 bail.
Law enforcement officers say they confiscated nearly 5,300 plants from a property on Natchez Creek Road in the unincorporated Bangor area of Butte County. A second suspect escaped capture. Authorities with the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said they recovered an AR-15 rifle at the scene.
Officials initially spotted the grow site via helicopter. Officials believe the plants were irrigated by water diverted from creeks and held in a hidden swimming pool.